Welcome to the Haverhill Harlots

A new star is born in the Morris Firmament

Little Egypt's regular visit to the toffs in the neighbouring village of Cavendish was rather different this year. Sure, we danced at "The Bull", with its excellent Adnams ale, and we moved on to "The Five Bells" afterwards (where the beer, let it be said, has improved markedly), but the key to the success of this evening had nothing to do with Little Egypt - in fact we danced quite appallingly at times.

No: the evening was important purely as the first occasion on which a new ladies side, "The Haverhill Harlots", took to the streets and an admiring audience.

The Harlots have been working for months in preparation for this summer's Haverhill Festival (see the flyer up top), and, for their sins, invited several gentlemen of Little Egypt to assist with their coaching. The results were there for all to see.

With the good offices of LE's musicians, and Haverhill's very own Uncle Isaacs,

the girls gave a spirited and energetic performance of each of their dances. And that is not meant to sound condescending. They were good. They were lively. They smiled a lot, which is, after all, the main point of the Morris. They succeeded, and they did impress the assembled crowds. As befits their name (and their home town), they were also suitably coarse and vulgar: more power to them, says I. Even Dave Jukes was seen to blush.

It was a real pleasure to witness and host this first performance, and even to take second place to the new side. Good luck in June, ladies. LE hope this will not be the last time we meet up for a session.